Political Watch: April 9, 2020

• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) and a coalition of 10 legislators sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter on April 1 asking the state to give counties the right of first refusal for those who sign up for the California Health Corps. The corps is a new option for doctors, nurses, and other critical health care workers to be deployed to alternative care sites. “There does not seem to be a mechanism in place to ensure that local health care needs are being met before the state deploys corps members to other regions,” Cunningham posted on his Facebook page. The bipartisan-penned letter states, “[We] ask that you direct the California Health Corps program to work hand in hand with counties to ensure that health care workers are first offered to their local county.” The letter seeks to ensure that rural communities in particular can place their corps volunteers locally, if the help is needed, before they would be deployed elsewhere.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on March 30 to provide relief to small businesses in California. The order allows the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to offer 90-day extensions on tax returns and payments for businesses that file less than $1 million in taxes. The order also extends deadlines and requirements for a number of state government industries. The Department of Motor Vehicles is limiting in-person transactions for the next 60 days, so the order will allow for mail-in renewals. The order also waives some continuing education requirements for the next 60 days and extends deadlines for trainings for state workers, among other business-related extensions.

• Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) joined other state legislators “to support and elevate the concerns of nonprofits to our state leaders,” she wrote in a March 27 Facebook post. Limón and 23 other state Assembly members sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders. “The state cannot address all of the public’s needs on its own and requires the collaboration of the nonprofit community,” the letter states. “In order to provide for these collaborations, nonprofits need our immediate assistance in contracting, budgeting, staffing, and programming flexibility. … We urge you to work with the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) and its members to respond to their requests for our assistance in supporting all Californians.” The letter lays out key actions the state can take to assist California nonprofits. “As chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector, I am proud [to] join legislative colleagues to support and elevate the concerns of nonprofits to our state leaders,” Limón wrote in her Facebook post announcing the letter. “Times like these demonstrate why the nonprofit sector is the backbone of our community.”

• U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) introduced a bipartisan resolution, House Resolution 913, which thanks workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis and reaffirms “Congress’ responsibility to meet the safety needs of these workers by providing ample resources and protective equipment,” a March 31 press release stated. “My bipartisan resolution urges Congress to recommit to front-line workers and do everything in our power to bring them more personal protective equipment and stronger safety protections,” Carbajal said in the release. “These workers are essential to every community and to our nation’s economy—we must treat them as such and uplift them in every way we can. I am grateful to all of the front-line workers serving our communities.” The resolution defines front-line workers as health care workers, emergency responders, grocery and food service workers, farmworkers, public works employees, postal and delivery workers, and others working in essential industries.

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